


24 Days of Dickkory-smas

by emmaofmisthaven



Category: Titans (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, F/M, in-universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-05 06:47:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 16,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16805551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emmaofmisthaven/pseuds/emmaofmisthaven
Summary: 24 fluffy Dickkory oneshots for 24 days until Christmas





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Can I write one oneshot a day for 24 days in a row? Probably not.
> 
> Am I going to try anyway? Apparently.
> 
> (Warnings for tooth-rooting fluffy and family feels, because that's how I roll. Disgusting.)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 1\. I got tricked into kissing you under the mistletoe, oh well

Christmas at the Wayne Manor was always performative.

Alfred would buy and put on a few tasteful decorations in the main living room and an army of caterers and waiters would be hired for the annual Christmas party Bruce would organise that year to raise funds for whichever charity he fancied himself supporting. If Dick was lucky, Diana would be invited and he would spend the evening with Donna, talking shit about the other guests and stealing cups of champagne when nobody was looking. More often than not, though, he would find a quiet corner where to sulk and read until everyone left.

He would find a nice present waiting for him on Christmas morning and, if Bruce wasn’t busy, they would have lunch together. Bruce was always busy, though, so Dick only remembers sharing leftovers with Alfred and trying to convince the old man to let him go out for the day. There is nothing thrilling about walking around the domain in the snow, but it was always better than staying inside all day long to watch crappy movies on tv that would only showcase an ideal Christmas he’d come to hate.

Waking up on his first Christmas morning with the other three feels a lot like having a small, candy-cane-flavoured aneurysm. It’s as if one of Santa’s elves puked all over their apartment, and not in a good way. Dick vividly remembers the place being the same as ever when he went to bed last night – sure, earlier than usual, but he had a long day and a bruised rib, so it’s justified – and he has no idea what happened, why, and how it happened so fast.

There’s a fully decorated Christmas tree in the living room, four matching stockings above the tv set, and more garland everywhere than is probably allowed. Or good taste. And that’s without even mentioning the smell of cookies and chocolate coming from the kitchen, or how Gar shows up with a Santa hat on his head that violently clashes with the green of his hair. Dick feels like going back to bed immediately.

“What the fuck,” he says instead. Flat. Tired.

Gar just grins at him, like the fucking puppy he can be at times, which makes it a million times worse. Dick can’t just be upset and grumpy at Gar when he’s like that, all marshmallow and unicorns. He would go straight down to hell if he were mean to Gar for no other reason than he’s a Grinch and Gar is the human representation of everything good and pure in this world.

“He’s awaaaaake,” Gar singsongs, head tilted toward the kitchen.

“I hate you,” Dick comments for good measure. They both know he doesn’t mean it.

The kitchen, obviously, is just as bad. Rachel and Kory are wearing matching Christmas sweaters, the former with antlers on top of her head while the latter gathered her curly hair into two ponytails, wrapped with tinsel. They’re making what looks like the beginning of a gingerbread house and drinking hot chocolate out of round mugs shaped like snowmen and reindeers. If Dick had any doubt they stole his credit card when he was passed out, it’s not exactly doubts anymore.

“Good morning,” Rachel beams at him, which. It’s even worse than Gar’s existence, seeing Rachel’s happiness. More effective on his cold, shrivelling heart. More deadly. Because he spent months making sure she was okay, she would be okay, have a life and be a semi-normal teenage girl with a semi-normal life. And here she is. Happily celebrating Christmas with people who love her more than anything, with stars in her eyes and red on her cheeks. Not for the first time, she reminds him of Donna – and of the fact that he would lay his life for her if he had to.

“Morning,” he sighs back, even as Gar shoves a mug of hot chocolate in his hands and forces him to sit at the kitchen island. He rolls his eyes, for good measure, before he adds, “We agreed the credit card was only for emergencies.”

Kory gasps, eyes going comically wide. “It _was_ an emergency.”

“Someone dying is an emergency. This bull… _This_ is not.”

She makes a face at him before she leans across the kitchen island to flick his nose. For a moment there, Dick gets distracted by the way her leg pops in the air as she does so, and the fact that she wears a long Christmas sweater and literally nothing else. Where she managed to get that purple monstrosity that can also pass as a dress, in only a few hours, is a mystery to him.

“Who here doesn’t care about what Dick thinks?” Kory asks flippantly, as she raises her hand with a flick of the wrist.

Gar’s and Rachel’s hands shoot up before she even finishes her question, and Dick can only scoff and roll his eyes at his obvious defeat, before he takes a sip of his hot chocolate. Damn, but that thing is good too, made of really chocolate instead of the sugar-loaded stuff Gar puts in his almond milk every morning. They really went all in for this.

Rachel turns toward Kory, big, innocent smile plastered on her face. “Can we open our presents now?”

Kory caresses her face, soft and motherly. She’s so much better at this shit than Dick will ever be – even now after all this time with them, he sometimes feels like freaking out and running away from his responsibilities. He has no idea how she does it, composed and perfect. Like everything else in Kory’s life. “Sure, have fun!”

Gar and Rachel don’t need more than that to turn to the living room. There’s a loud bang that always comes when one jokingly pushes the other against a wall, then muffled sounds of a fake argument and the ripping of wrapping paper.

“Don’t look so grumpy,” Kory sighs as she comes to stand close to him, turning his stool over so he will face her. Dick opens his legs so she can step between them, his hands rising to cup her face like he very much loves to do. She’s soft and warm in the morning, especially in moments like that – her face bare of the makeup she uses as war paint.

“I’m not grumpy, just….” She raises an eyebrow at him. “Yeah, okay, grumpy. Happy?”

“Not really, no. It’s Christmas; you should enjoy yourself too.” Her finger runs against the wrinkles on his forehead, which does nothing to smooth them. If anything else, Dick frowns even more. “You can’t be that intense in life all the time.”

“I can loosen up!” he argues, although he knows how pointless it is, especially with Kory.

And, indeed, she only scoffs in reply. “What, when Donna takes pity on you and drags you to a bar? That’s sad, even for you, Dick.”

When he sighs this time, it’s less frustrated and even a little sadder perhaps. “I’m fucking trying, okay.”

“Fake it until you make it in front of the kids, alright? It’s important to them.” And then, pointing above their heads, “You can even start now.”

Dick looks up, only to find a branch of mistletoe attached to one end of the lamp above them. It very much feels like a trap, that they put it right under the chair he sits on every morning, but – it doesn’t feel like a bad trap. Because they did something nice, worked hard on all of this shit, and the least he could do is appreciate their effort about it. Isn’t that what this stupid holiday is supposed to be about anyway? Spending quality time with the ones you love?

Well, Dick can start now. His first smile of the day slowly blossoms on his lips as he pulls on Kory’s sweater to bring her even closer to him. He will have fun getting rid of it tonight, but for now he’s fine with the way she puts her hands on his shoulders and leans toward him. Her lips taste like cinnamon and chocolate, warm and pliant against his.

The kiss only lasts a few moments before Kory leans away, but Dick’s eyes stay close for a few seconds more. Although he and Kory have been more or less dating for a while now, if you could even call it that, it never ceases to amaze him how great it is to kiss her. It doesn’t matter if it’s desperate after a mission or hungry in a heated moment, or just like now, quiet and loving. He will never tire of her lips on his, on the sighs caught against his mouth.

He’s about to say something potentially stupid, when a shriek comes from the living room, followed by an excited “Is that a _puppy?!”_ from Rachel. He’s out of his seat in seconds, panicking, followed by a laughing Kory. Only to find Rachel grinning at him like the cat who ate the canary.

“The fuck?”

“You were taking too much time,” she replies calming, with a one-shoulder shrug. “Had to find a way to get you there quickly.”

Fuck, but he hates the kid.

(It’s definitely a lie.)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 2\. Pretend boyfriend/girlfriend for family Christmas party

“I need your help.”

Things never end up well when Dick pops his head into her cubicle with such words. Last time, they both almost got fired over one of his so-called brilliant ideas. Before that, she nearly flooded the staff bathroom to prove him wrong about something. Then there was that time they got locked out of the building at midnight with all their shit still inside and no mean to break in.

So, really, Kory should stop entertaining him. It’s assured to be a shit-show.

Which is why she sighs and turns toward him. Or, well, turns as much as she can while her feet are propped up on her desk and her keyboard is balanced on her stomach – what? She likes to be comfortable at work, okay! “What do you want this time?”

And thing is, Dick is half decent at his job when he feels like it. He’s also the most popular guy at work, with the majority of people-attracted-to-men lusting over his (arguably interesting) ass all day long. But Dick has about zero skills when it comes to socialising, and to relationships, and to basically acting like a normal human being. Which is funny as fuck most of the time.

Which also means he rambles. A lot.

“Well, see, my sister is organising a Christmas party this year after a few years of us not really gathering as a family – you know how it is, she travels a lot and Rachel isn’t always the best at family shit, and driving back to Gotham isn’t that practical to us. And, anyway, Donna is going all in this year, big dinner at her place with lots of people, food for days, even…”

“Dick,” she interrupts him. Puts him out of his misery, really. “To the point.”

He sighs, and frowns. Cute. Almost. “She was very sarcastic about it, all ‘Guess you don’t need a plus one?’ so, obviously, I had to argue back. And well, long story short, I told her we’re dating so, are you free next Monday evening because I need you to be my date?”

Her mouth has opened agape halfway through his speech, but it’s only once Dick is done that Kory actually starts laughing. And laughing. And laughing. Tears pearling at the corners of her eyes that she brushes away with a knuckles, even if her body is still shaking with silent giggles. Dick looks upset, quite obviously, but it’s hard to take him seriously when he apparently decided to re-enact a Hallmark movie, just because – well, because he’s a petty dude, apparently. Kory can almost relate to that.

“Are you out of your mind?” she asks with another peel of laughter. “Your kids know we’re not dating; they’ll snitch in a second.”

He looks… almost sheepish now, which is totally not what she’s used to when it comes to Dick. Like, yes, the guy is awkward as fuck when it comes to making small talk, but at least he has enough confidence about him that it almost looks like he knows what he’s doing at all times. Except now, apparently.

“That’s the thing, right. I told them, and they find it fucking hilarious. Even told me they want to see this shit happen, just to see me fail. I think there’s bets going on and all.”

Kory has met Dick’s kids a couple of times before. They’re both cute as buttons, even if they definitely give as good as they get when it comes to sass and wit. Definitely take after their foster father in that category. And, well, maybe it’s the sick part of Kory talking, but she kinda want to see that shit happen too. And she’d never say no to spending more time with Rachel and Gar, cause those kids are awesome.

Which is basically how she finds herself in Dick’s soccer mom van not even a week later, on her way to Donna Troy’s Detroit loft. Dick has been prepping her for days about this shit, so now she can only picture his sister as some kind of crazy helicopter sibling who believes vaccines are causing autism and everything is cured by essential oils. Why else would he put so much effort in this story, after all, if not because his sister is off her rockers?

Needless to say, ‘surprise’ barely covers how Kory feels when the door to the loft opens on a very beautiful, very put-together brunette. Donna grins from ear to ear at the sight of them, hugging the two teenagers first, then Dick. Despite knowing they are not blood-related, Kory can’t help but notice how much they look like each other – it’s the way they hold themselves perhaps, or how Dick’s rare smiles seem to mirror Donna’s.

“And you must be Kory,” Donna exclaims as she pulls Kory into a hug too. “I’d say I heard a lot about you, but this one never tells me anything.”

“Like you tell me everything about your girlfriends,” he replies, petulant.

Kory jumps in. “Girlfriend, singular.”

Donna is grinning even more now, and Dick throws her a surprised smile before he checks himself and pulls an arm around her waist. It’s stiff and awkward, and he’s obviously not used to acting like that, but muscle memory is a beautiful thing to Kory. It only takes her a few moments to relax, leaning into him just enough that soon his arm doesn’t feel so uncomfortable around her or his body so tense against her side.

“You’re doing great,” she whispers to him as they make their way instead.

“Shut up.”

Donna’s Christmas dinner is less of a family matter than a quick get-together with friends, and Kory is soon introduced to many people who all seem to more or less know Dick and whose names she forgets the moment they move on to another conversation.

Thankfully, both for Dick’s social anxieties levels and for Kory’s boredom levels, Dawn and Hank are quick to arrive too, and stay by their sides all through the evening. Kory does enjoy Dawn’s company – so peaceful and quiet, her voice soothing even when she tells a particularly funny joke – and is glad to see at least two familiar faces. It doesn’t take long until a biracial guy, who introduces himself to her as Wally West, joins them in their corner of the loft.

And it’s so interesting, seeing Dick outside of work. Yes, there’s been the odd night out at a bar here and there with their colleagues, and that one dreadful picnic their boss all forced them to attend. But it really is something else to see him surrounded by friends who’ve known him for quite some time now – he’s more relaxed than she’s ever seen him, more at ease. He’s smiling a whole lot more too, and perhaps Kory is starting to understand why everyone and their brother has a crush on him.

“You all look like a Benetton advert and a half,” Donna jokes as she walks toward them, beer in hand. “Kory, can I talk to you for a minute?”

Dick shares a meaningful glance with her – of course they were expecting Donna to go all big sister on her ass tonight – but Kory rolls her eyes at him before she stands up. He has nothing to worry about; they did make up a believable story and she does know how to lie flawlessly.

Donna asks her to help with the cheese cubes or some other bullshit, just the two of them in the empty and quiet kitchen, so Kory isn’t fooled. This is less of a nice chat and more of an interrogation, at this point.

“It’s nice that you could come tonight,” is how Donna decides to start the conversation as she takes some stuff out of the fridge. “I haven’t seen Dick that happy in a while.”

Well, he did promise Kory he would do all her annoying paperwork for two months if she agreed to this so – sure, he must be thrilled. “Thanks? I guess.”

They do set up to cut some cheese and put it into bowls, which proves more arduous than Kory had anticipated, what with her nail extensions and all. She’d rather not take an emergency appointment at the salon between Christmas and New Year, thank you very much.

“Don’t tell him I said that, but I worried about him. Between his jobs and the kids, I think he often forgets to just – live, you know? It’s good that he found someone.” Donna smiles at her, and it’s soft and loving. Not for the first time, Kory aches for her own family, halfway across the world. “Especially with the way he talks about you.”

Her eyes widen, just a bit. “He talks about me?”

“Oh, girl, I was only fucking with him earlier. It’s been going on for months now, every time I manage to have him on the phone. Always complaining about how your bonuses are bigger than his and how your boss likes you better, and Kory this, and Kory that. It seriously only was a matter of time before he realised how bad he had it for you.”

Kory finds herself grateful for her dark skin – it definitely helps hiding the blush on her cheeks and how warm her entire face feels all of a sudden. She has a hard time believing Dick would just rant about her to his sister if given the chance, even more so than she has a hard time believing siblings actually still call each other to gossip in 2018. But it’s – cute, almost? Definitely heart-warming. The thought of Dick complaining to Donna about her, over and over again, until it became A Thing, capital letters and all, doesn’t fail to make her smile.

“But seriously though,” Donna goes on as she gathers a bunch of cheese cubes before dumping them into a bowl, “not to be all ‘if you hurt him, I’ll hurt you’ about it but – he’s seen some fucking shit in his life. And I know he can be a pain about, well, basically everything but… be nice to him, okay? Cause I’m strong enough to break a few of your perfectly manicured fingers.”

Kory can’t help but smile at that, even though Donna is dead serious about it. It’s comforting, in a way, that someone is as protective of him as Dick is of his kids, that someone cares about him just enough to make threats about his happiness. It makes Kory long for something long forgotten, left behind in a country she no long calls home.

“Whatever she’s saying, she’s lying,” comes from behind them, the two of them turning around to find Dick standing in the doorway. He looks between her and Donna, before his eyes stop on Kory. “Everything okay?”

“Yes, we’re done. Thanks for the help, Kory.”

Donna grabs both bowls before she walks away, leaving them alone in the kitchen. Dick lets her go, before he moves closer to Kory. She pretends to focus on plucking bits of cheese from under her nails, just so she won’t have to meet his eyes; she doesn’t know if she’s quite able of such a thing right now, not when Donna’s words still ring in her ears.

“Seriously, though. You okay?”

He’s right in front of her now, hand curling around her elbow. Kory has no choice but to look at him, and witness the flash of worry in his eyes as he takes her all in. She feels stupid and childish – like a school girl who suddenly realised that the boy was pulling at her pigtails for months because he actually likes _likes_ her. And she doesn’t know how to react, because maybe she was replying in kind all this time to hide the fact that she likes _likes_ him too. What a concept.

“What are you doing next week?”

He frowns, just a little. “Next week is New Year’s Eve.”

“Yes.” Genius.

Dick frowns some more, looking into her eyes for – something. She doesn’t know what, exactly, but it makes her stomach fluttery all of a sudden with the way he takes a step closer, fingers tightening around her elbow. He’s so close she can see the specks of gold in his eyes, so close her red hair brushes against his face.

And he’s smiling now, one of those real but rare smiles. “Spending the evening with you?”

She might be smiling, too. “Good answer.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 3\. My car got stuck in snow you saved me

“We should call Kory.”

Dick knows, on an intellectual level, that Gar is right. Of course he is. They’ve been stuck here for the better part of half an hour now, unable to do anything, let alone to move, and it doesn’t seem as if it’s going to get any better soon. They should definitely call Kory, and she will come and deal with this shit, and that will be the end of it.

But, one thing though.

Dick is stubborn as fuck.

It’s his pride talking when he ignores Gar’s piece of advice and turns on the ignition once more, the mini van’s engine not roaring to life as much as coughing into action. He puts his foot down, only to spin his wheels. The mini van doesn’t move one inch.

Dick sighs, and perhaps swears a bit too, but he cuts the ignition once more and lays his forehead on the wheel. This is ridiculous. This is so fucking ridiculous and he has no fucking idea how that happened, and it definitely wouldn’t have happened with the Porsche. Fuck, he misses the Porsche. He misses driving around Gotham on empty, icy roads, skidding faster than was allowed. Gordon would sometimes give him a talk about it, but Dick was always careful. As if he would let anything happen to his car, to his baby.

Now he’s fucking snowed in with his soccer mom van and his two children, and he kinda maybe hates his life a little bit.

“Hey, it’s me,” comes Rachel’s voice from the backseat, taking him out of his own mind. He raises his head to look at her through the rear-view mirror, only to find her on the phone. “We’re stuck on the highway just outside of town, can you come and help us?” Pause. “Yeah no, Dick got us stuck here. Went off the road because of a stray dog.” Eye roll. Pause. “No we’re fine, don’t worry. Just Dick’s ego a bit bruised.”

“Hey!” he complains without really putting his heart into it. He stretches out his arm between the seats, and Rachel drops the phone in his hand. He puts it to his ear immediately. “Hi.”

He can hear Kory’s smirk in her simple “Hey, you.”

“Don’t start, okay?” he says, if only because she will snort in answer and he loves that sound. There is something to be said about how fond he is of her making fun of him, even though it’s also very infuriating. Donna calls it whipped. “I’m going to pin you our location, can you Uber here as soon as you can?”

“Must be really bad if you’re asking for my help,” she beams.

He’d hate her, if he wasn’t already so… yeah. “Just hurry, okay? Gar is freezing his ass off.”

“We can’t all have as much back padding as you do,” Gar shoots back just as Dick hangs up, which means he doesn’t grace Kory with his snort of laughter.

He’s not a monster so he cranks the heating on a little bit, even if it doesn’t help much. Night will be down soon too, so he really does hope Kory will hurry up before he ends up with a little tiger popsicle next to him. No worry about Rachel though – the girl has proven to be tough as fuck more than once, and it’s not a little cold that’s going to affect her. She’s fine just playing Kwazy Cupcakes on her phone until the battery dies on her.

Thankfully for him, and Rachel’s phone battery, and Gar’s hypothermia, beam lights soon appears on the road in front of them, and it’s only a matter of minutes before a car stops next to theirs and Kory comes out of it. She thanks the driver, probably explaining that no they’re fine and don’t need help, before she slams the door. She waits until the car is long gone before she turns back toward the mini van and smirks at Dick. Like the asshole she is.

Dick gets out of the car just then, dropping into the snow. It comes halfway to his knees, which makes it all the more clear that the mini van will not move any time soon on its own. Kory must notice too, if the way she clicks her tongue and puts her hands on her hips is anything to go by. But of course she has to make it difficult for him. There’s some fun in that.

“All three of you, two with superpowers, and you couldn’t do anything about it?”

“Gar says it’s too cold to transform, and Rachel was afraid to wreck the van.” Which sounds bullshit when he says it out loud, and sounded bullshit when they told him. Kory isn’t impressed either, hiding her judgement with her tongue darting out to lick her lips. “I tried my best, okay.”

“Oh, I’m sure you did!” She’s raising her eyebrows now, and grinning. He wants to be mad but, well. It’s Kory, so. “I’ll try my best too, don’t worry.”

Which obviously means she gathers her powers and slowly melts the snow around the van without blowing the van itself, and it takes her, what? A grand total of twenty seconds? Twenty-five, tops, but who’s counting.

Dick rolls his eyes, for good measure.

Kory looks quite please with herself, as she always does when she uses her powers for good instead of turning bad guys to ashes. She and Rachel had roasted marshmallows last week without even burning down the house, and Dick calls it an accomplishment. Now if only they could find vegan marshmallows that don’t cost an arm and a leg, that would be awesome too.

And speaking of Gar, his head pops up above the roof the the car, looking at them expectantly. “Can we go home now?”

Kory snaps her fingers at him. “My seat.”

He immediately scrambles to get out of the front seat and into the back seat with Rachel. Dick wishes he had that kind of authority on them. Most of the time when he gives them an order, they either laugh in his face or argue back for ten minutes. Being a father is harder than he thought, not that he will ever question his own behaviour as a teenager or what that could mean on his own parental figure, thank you very much.

“Dick!”

He startles at Kory’s voice, or perhaps at how much closer she is all of a sudden. Her big, green eyes only a few inches from his own face, and filled with thinly-veiled concern. He’s so used to her worrying about the kids all the time, in her own pretending-I’m-above-that-and-not-giving-a-fuck way, but it always throws him off balance when she worries about him too. He doesn’t know how to exist around people who care that much about him.

“Lost you for a second there,” she comments, and it’s low and soft, barely more than a gentle whisper. “Do you want me to drive?”

He shakes his head. It’s not that he has a problem with Kory driving – they share the time behind the wheel equally – but she did make it all the way into the middle of nowhere to take care of all of them like that. The least he can do is go back behind the wheel and (finally) get them all home. “It’s fine.”

“Good.”

She kisses his cheek then, lingering for longer than usual. It’s nice and sweet, one of those moments he cherishes the most – when they both drop the bullshit and the walls and allow themselves to just be, if only for a few seconds. And then she’s leaning away, and giving him one of those dazzling smiles before she wipes the blue lipstick off his cheek with her thumb.

“Let’s get home then,” she says.

Home. With her. He loves the sound of that.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 4\. I was having a snowball fight outside and you were casually walking by and oh my god I’m so sorry i accidentally nailed you in the face

There is nothing Rachel loves more than the cold. Dick knew he was welcoming a little weirdo into his house the moment he met her, all dark eyeliner and Game of Thrones addiction, but it is even more striking now, running around and screaming like a banshee as she gathers snow between her palms to throw it at him. 

Gar has given up on their fight a long while ago, hiding in the comfort (and warmth!) of their flat to play video games. Rachel isn’t so easily defeated, still going strong one hour later. So much energy for such a small body, not even her red cheeks or her freezing fingers stopping her from winning this war. 

It is the first time Dick sees her laugh, properly – the sounds loud and carefree as they escape her mouth. She almost startled herself the first time, bursting into laughter when one snowball crashed against his face. She looked confused, like she was learning to be happy all over again. Which is probably why Dick isn’t putting an end to this cold misery quite yet. He wants her to enjoy herself, to be the kid she hasn’t allowed herself to be since her mother was killed in front of her. She needs a break from her sadness and mourning, if only for one afternoon.

“You’ll never get me!” she goats him as she runs away and around the corner of their building. 

Dick huffs and puffs as he leans down to grab more snow and shape a perfect ball. He’s got a good technique now, from many years of relentless wars against Donna that always ended up ugly – and even with a broken arm that one time. 

“Oh Raaaaachel,” he singsongs as he approaches the corner. Only a peel of laughter answers. “If I hit you, do you admit defeat?”

“You’ll  _ never _ hit me!”

“But if I do?”

There is a pregnant pause, before she sighs loudly. “Fine, but you owe me a hot chocolate. With marshmallows!”

Dick grins to himself. Both Rachel and Gar have a sweet tooth, which isn’t all that great for his wallet – they go through boxes of cookies faster than should probably legal, or considered good parenting – but proves itself handy when he wants something out of them. 

He readies himself for the shot, knowing there is very little chance he will miss. He’s being throwing them off on purpose all through their game, to make it a little fairer to her. She would kill him if she knew he’s cheating, but oh well. It’s probably worth it. 

He’s not going to miss this time, he tells himself as he finally rounds the corner and takes his shot. The ball flies through the air–

–and crashes on the neighbour. 

Dick and Rachel gasp at the same time. The neighbour freezes on the spot. Dick’s face turns white. Rachel is yelling at him. It’s all the big mess. 

“Oh shit, fuck!” he exclaims as he jogs toward her. “I’m so sorry!”

She’s slowly raising a perfectly manicured hand to wipe the snow from her face, not that it will do much good. He made the ball bigger than usual, and that shit is everywhere – in her hair, on her face and neck, down her throat, on her clothes. She’s yet to say a word but, when she turns towards him, it’s less anger and more utter bewilderment in her green eyes. 

“What did I ever  _ do _ to you?” she asks. 

Relief immediately floods his veins at the fact that she isn’t about to snap at him or make a fuss. His hand hovering over her elbow, he turns toward Rachel. “Go grab a towel.”

It says a lot about how surreal that moment is, because Rachel doesn’t argue back or tell him to go grab the towel himself. Instead she does as she’s told, running to the building, while Dick follows behind her with the neighbour. At least the hallway won’t be quite as cold as outside. 

Once the doors have closed on them, she slowly unwraps the scarf from around her neck. Years of growing up with Bruce and he only needs one glance to know it’s the expensive kind, all fine fabric and high-end brand – that, and the fact that she lives in one of the penthouses while he shares a flat half the size with two teenagers addicted to Fortnite.

He wishes he could stop staring at the expanse of her neck, the skin dark and smooth inviting his lips to taste her, the melting ice he wants to lick away. She’s attractive in a dangerous way, the kind that tells him he would get more than what he bargained for if he even tried flirting with her. It’s not often Dick believes someone is out of his league but, well. She definitely looks like she might be.

Thankfully for him, Rachel decides to come back with the towel and to get him out of his thoughts. Not for long though, because she only chances a glance at the both of them before she goes back up the stairs as fast as her feet will have her. Dick doesn’t blame her; the hallway reeks of awkwardness. 

Even more so when Sexy Neighbour starts patting down her neck with the towel, and Dick kinda forgets how to human being for a second there. Sometimes, he really lives up to his name, or something.

“Are you always that vicious at snowball fights?” she asks, effectively preventing more of his blood to run south. Yes, small talk. He can do that.

“Only against thirteen-year-old girls,” he replies, and is rewarded with a dazzling smile. Which doesn’t exactly helps, but oh well. He’s made his peace with that now.

“You’ve got two of them, right? The one with the crazy hair is yours too?”

“Gar, yeah. I mean, they’re not  _ mine, _ not really. Foster family, more like.”

“Wow,” she enunciates slowly. People always seem impressed by it, but to Dick it’s not big deal, not really. Not after growing up in a foster family himself and knowing he could help kids too if he wanted. He’s been through the same shit, which makes him an okay role model, he thinks. Sometime like that at least. “That’s so brave, coming from a single guy.”

There’s the hint of a question at the end of her sentence that takes Dick aback for a hot second there. Is she – she’s flirting back, right? He’s not always good at social cues, especially since it’s been so long since the last time he went out and talk to people who weren’t Gar and Rachel, or even Donna. He’s rusty as fuck, but she’s definitely flirting. Or, at least, testing the waters. He can work with that.

“I try my best,” he shrugs, before he holds his hand out to her. “Richard, by the way. But everyone calls me Dick.”

“Oh, I’m sure they do,” she beams, her grin once again so bright and beautiful it takes him by surprise. Or maybe it’s just her, pulling him into her orbit until he forgets anyone else he was remotely attracted to on this planet. They don’t matter anymore, not when she’s looking at him, soft and confident at the same time. “I’m Kory.”

“How do you feel about hot chocolate?” he asks. And then, before she has time to open her mouth and politely decline, “It’s the least I can do to apologize.”

When she smiles this time, it’s a little more secretive. Mysterious. “Well then.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 5\. I got you for Secret Santa, but I thought it was suppose to be a gag gift, and now I wont fess up because I’m embarrassed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I shit at sticking to the schedule? Yes.
> 
> Am I going to try to catch up? Yes.
> 
> Is it going to work? We just don't know.

“Hey, quick question.”

Dawn looks up from her computer with a polite smile, as is always with her. She could be in the middle of writing an important report, or an urgent email, and yet she’d still take the time to answer any inquiry Kory has. The woman really has the patience of a saint; Kory has no idea how she does it.

“For you?” she grins. “Always.”

“What did you get for Secret Santa?”

Dawn frowns ever so slightly, the only evidence that Kory’s question threw her off the loop for a second there. They work in different departments, but have to work together once in a while when certain projects call for it. Surely Dawn thought it was one of those moments, instead of something about the hat they all draw names from three weeks ago.

She raises her hand to her neck, and Kory notices the necklace that wasn’t there before, if only because Kory has an eye for jewellery and is always curious about the pieces her friends wear. Dawn’s minimalistic choices don’t really match Kory’s more in-your-face tastes, but the silver pendant does look pretty enough if you like that type of things.

“Wally got me this necklace,” she says, grabbing the pendant to show it. Kory leans forward to have a better look – it’s a small silhouette of a ballet dancing, frozen into an arabesque. It does look pretty; it also makes Kory pale a little.

“Fuck…” she mutters, more to herself than anything else.

Dawn looks all the more confused. “What’s the problem?”

She closes her eyes with a long sigh, before she opens them once more and licks her lips as she looks for the right words about the kind of situation she now finds herself in. “So turns out that Secret Santa was a bit different at my old job, and nobody told me that you don’t do joke gifts here.”

Dawn’s mouth opens slightly in surprise, before she lets out a small “Oh…” that is both really understanding and a bit pitying at the same time. How she manages to do that without sounding condescending, Kory has no idea. Perhaps just because she’s Dawn and there isn’t one mean bone in her body – the reason Kory came to her, and not anyone else, about the issue at hand. “What did you buy?”

Kory is about to answer as truthfully as possible, because if anyone can help her about this, it is Dawn. That is, of course, without taking into account the way Donna shows up out of nowhere, crashing Dawn’s cubicle and already laughing like the madwoman she is. “You’ll never guess what some weirdo bought Dick for Secret Santa!”

A groan escapes Kory as she hides her face in her hands. Both Dawn and Donna stare at her, and Kory watches between her fingers as their expressions change in only a matter of seconds – Dawn from confusion to understanding, Donna from stupor to a loud, hysterical laughter that only has her groaning even more. This is bad. This is so, very bad.

“This is the best!” Donna exclaims.

“Oh Kory, what did you buy?”

Maybe she should just own up to it. She’s fairly new to the office, only having worked there for a few months, so it wouldn’t be all that surprising to learn she just made a mistake because she’s used to joke Secret Santa where the goal simply is to make people laugh with ridiculous gifts. Her bad. She’ll do better next year.

And really, of all people, Dawn and Donna would be the best to understand her struggle and to help her out of the situation. They’ve been nothing but friendly to her since she arrived, inviting her for drinks on Friday nights and warning her about food-stealers in the staff room. She considers them less like colleagues and more like friends at this point.

She’s about to come clean, which obviously is when Dick decides to show up, looking at Donna expectantly. “Did you find something?”

Donna, ever the biggest poker face in the history of the universe, pouts her lips and shake her head slowly. “No clue, bro. Everyone I talked to picked someone else’s name.”

Dick makes a face as he puts his hands on his hips and looks away, so he doesn’t notice the look shared between the three ladies. Donna is almost laughing again, while Dawn has a gleam in her eye Kory has never seen before. It can’t be anything good – especially when Kory remembers who she’s married to, and who her brother-in-law is. Nope. No good at all.

“What did you get?” she asks, the perfect picture of innocence.

Kory glares at her, which only results in Dawn offering her the same innocent look. Ugh. She hates her friends. It does say a lot about how clueless Dick is, that he doesn’t notice the silent conversation between the two of them, even though it lingers for at least three seconds. Kory could show up at his place wearing nothing but Christmas-theme lingerie, and he probably still would be clueless about what the fuck is happening. Maddening. Also endearing.

She hates feelings.

He’s pouting now – an expression not unlike Donna’s – before he replies, “A mug that says ‘Gotham’s Best Ass’.”

Donna is back to cackling like a crazy person. Dawn is giggling too. Even Kory can’t swallow back her smile at how utterly confused he seems to be. And let’s be honest. It was a funny gift. Inappropriate as fuck, okay. But still funny. Especially because said ass is the talk of all the office – women and men alike commenting on the goods and lusting over Dick’s backside. Kory isn’t immune to it either, though she is more discreet about it than others.

Too discreet, perhaps. But then again, Dick has the social skills of a lobster. She’s seen him flirting in bars and getting some, but he’s pretty much clueless when it comes to the attention he gets at work and to how attractive he is to most people. Nice for hiding your crush. Not so nice when you’ve actively been flirting at him for a few weeks now and he still doesn’t get it.

(Then again, she could definitely show up at his place in lingerie and have to spell it out to him.)

“That’s not very helpful,” he comments when the three of them won’t stop smiling.

“We weren’t trying to be,” Donna replies with an even brighter grin. When he glares at her, she just moves closer to him and throws her arm around his shoulders. “Seriously, little bro, you can’t think of anyone who’d buy you that?”

He’s frowning again, staring down at the floor. Kory finds herself playing with her golden ring, afraid that the metaphorical lightbulb above his head will suddenly switch on and he will stare at her in disbelief. Nothing of the like happens though, both a relief and a curse. She does want him to figure it out, eventually. She doesn’t want it to happen if he’s only going to let her down. It would be worse than living with that stupid crush, seriously.

“I’ll ask Hank,” he says next.

And then he’s gone, just like that. Dawn is still staring at the way he went when she comments “Cause Hank definitely isn’t going to laugh at him for it.”

Donna bites down on her bottom lip not to laugh again. With Hank in the known, they won’t make it until the end of the day before everyone in every department learns about Dick’s shitty joke gift and rumours start spreading. All because Kory thought it would be funny. Great. Awesome. Amazing.

“You need to tell him.” She looks at Donna, who’s finally managed to calm down and is looking at her expectantly now. “Seriously. What’s the plan? Wait until New Year’s Eve, kiss him at midnight and hope for the best?”

“That’s exactly what I’m going to do,” she replies, just to be argumentative.

“Well fuck me, that’s one hell of a shitty plan.”

Still. That’s exactly what she does.

It works better than expected.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 6\. We’re both stuck at the airport for Christmas eve

Of all the days for a snowstorm to happen, it had to be Christmas Eve. That’s just Kory’s luck. She’s been sitting at the airport’s gate for what is hours now, hoping that the weather will finally chill for more than a few minutes so the board can stop blipping ‘cancelled’ and ‘delayed’ in reds and greens like a fucking Christmas tree. Her back is aching and her feet are dying in those new shoes, and all she wants is to be back at the Allens’ so she can take a warm bath and have a glass of wine with Iris.

But no. She’s stuck there, in the cold, watching that white shit falling from the sky. Because of course she is. When has anything ever gone to plans in her life anyway?

“You know I’m not doing it on purpose, right?”

She startles at the voice, and at the man falling unceremoniously in the plastic seat to her right. It takes her embarrassingly long seconds before she realises that he’s talking on the phone to someone else, and not just approaching her with some random-ass question. He barely even notices she’s here, too focused on his phone call to care about the world around him. He otherwise would have seen the many free seats around him, instead of taking the one next to the only other person at the gate.

“Of course I want to be here with you, what kind of monster do you think I am?” he goes on, then sighs loudly. Kory checks her own phone – five-hour delay and counting. “No, that’s not fair. … I know it’s important to you but. … I know. … I know. … Fuck, Rachel, I know, okay!”

Well at least she’s not the one stuck at the airport with an angry girlfriend on the other side of a flight, so that’s that. Small reliefs, and all that.

“Donna’s trying her best and… … Ah. Yeah. Did you order take-outs? … Yeah, sure, I mean… No, you can’t open your gifts without me! … Jesus, Rach, you don’t make it easy.”

Not going to lie, Kory is kinda invested in that narrative now, even though she only has one side of the conversation. If she strains her ear, she can make out the high-pitched sounds of a feminine voice coming from the phone, but it is sadly not loud enough for her to understand the words. Leaves space for the imagination, filling in the blanks as she goes.

Dude’s relationship isn’t going to make it all the way to New Year’s Eve, that’s for sure.

“You shouldn’t wait for me, it’s getting late anyway. I’m probably stuck here until morning. … Yes, we’ll open gifts on Facetime if we have to. … I promise, okay? … What?! No way. … I’m not singing you a lullaby. … Because you’re thirteen, Rachel, for fuck’s sake!”

Ah.

Unexpected.

“Also because there’s people around me and… No I’m not embarrassing myself in front of strangers, thank you very much. … Yes, I’ll have you know one woman is sitting next to me and…”

So much for feeling invisible, as the dude quickly glances at her with an apologetic tight-lipped smile. He’s handsome, in a very classic way. Kory likes the constellation of beauty marks below his eyes, and the fact that he’s a father, not a boyfriend. Which shouldn’t be relevant – he’s probably married, by that logic. But Kory is tired, and the guy is cute, and her imagination is running wild already so.

The guy does a double-take, fast. “Yes, she is, but that’s not relevant. … I’m not singing you a lullaby in front of a pretty woman just to embarrass myself, Rachel, Jesus fucking Christ.”

Kory can barely repress a giggle, earning herself another look from him. He’s smiling too, less tense this time, and dramatically rolls his eyes at her in what probably means ‘children, right?’ Not that Kory understands that feeling, but she does have very annoying siblings so it’s as close as it can get. Very annoying siblings halfway across the world she hasn’t seen in months, but she refuses to get sad about her family on Christmas Eve of all days. Especially when stuck at the airport. During a snowstorm. Next to a cute guy. Nope, no sadness tonight.

“Okay, keep going and I’m taking Gar’s Switch away for a month. … I don’t care that he hasn’t done anything, life is unfair! … Yeah. … Yeah. … Okay, good. … Now go to bed, I’ll text Aunt Donna when something change, okay? … Love you too, Rach. Sweet dreams.”

Silence settles between them once he’s hang up. Kory wonders if she should say anything at all as she plays with her gold ring, his words replaying in her head. She’s able to connect a few dots here and there, if only because it keeps her mind away from a few chosen words he had about her. It’s easier that way, focusing on facts instead of opinions.

“Sorry about that,” he says at last, after a few more moments of silence.

Kory smiles, even though it feels a bit nervous. “Daughter?”

He looks a bit on the younger side for a teenage daughter, but Kory knows better than to judge. High school accidents do happen after all. Or he just has a baby face that hides his real age. Or it’s just absolutely none of her business at all, go figure.

“Something like that. Foster dad. Got two of them with me. Orphans.”

“Oh,” is all she finds to say. That does indeed make a lot of sense, all things considered. And then, because she can’t help herself, “How brave of you and your wife.”

The way he smiles, she probably wasn’t as subtle as she wanted to be. Whatever. She’ll never see the guy again anyway, so who cares how she looks to him or how flirty she sounds.

“Just me, actually,” he replies and, yes. Flirty town it is then.

She waits for silence to settle between them, just a few seconds of lull in the conversation, before she comes back with, “So you find me pretty?”

The surprised, breathless laugh she gets out of him is delightful, to say the least. He turns a bit in his seat, so he’s facing her more, and she finds herself mirroring his position. He’s grinning now, the grin of a man who knows the effect he has on women and uses it to his full advantage. Kory can relate to that.

“Come on, now. You looks like the type of woman who knows how attractive she is. You don’t need me to tell you how hot you are.”

“Well, it’s always nice to hear.”

His eyes drop to her lips, and he doesn’t even try to hide it or play it cool. When he looks back up again, there is a heat to his eyes that has warmth pooling in her belly and her brain on overdrive. That unadultered lust in his gaze as he takes her in, head moving closer to hers, does very little to quiet the fire under her skin and the need to touch him, to wrap her lips around the beauty mark on his neck and to discover the sounds he makes when he’s breathless and moaning.

“Name’s Kory,” she manages to say, somewhat.

“Dick.”

And oh, how appropriate. She stands up suddenly and grabs him by the collar to follow. He does so without protest, the two of them almost-but-not-quite running toward the closest bathroom. It’s only once locked inside a stall that his mouth crashes against hers. It’s not the mile high club, not even close, but still he makes her see stars in only a matter of minutes.

It’s rough and dirty and perfectly decadent, but Kory doesn’t care. He’s just some dude at the airport, and that’s the end of it.

(And oh my, what a surprise during the New Year’s Eve party, when ‘Aunt Donna’ turns out to be Donna Troy, college roommate extraordinaire. If Kory starts the new year with an orgasm in a guest bedroom, well. It’s just a good sign for things to come during the next twelve months. And then some.)


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 7\. I work at a toy store and you keep coming in but never buy anything

“She’s back.”

Dick looks up at Dawn’s words. Indeed, there is no mistake about the woman walking into their store, little bell chiming above her head as she does so; it is the fourth time she’s visiting The Playing Graysons this week. She is yet to buy anything, or even to ask for help. Every time Dawn walks toward her and does her shtick, the woman smiles politely but refuses her advice, before she spends a good five minutes walking around then leaves. Rinse and repeat every day, at lunch break.

Which would be fine – people like to browse and Dick’s toy shop is doing well, especially during the month leading to Christmas. They don’t need her money to pay the bills, or anything of the like. They can survive with curious non-shoppers. Except.

Except she takes Dick’s breath away, just a little bit. He’s so used to busy moms, excited children and teenagers ready to spend their allowance; they make his main target demographic, unsurprisingly. But her – she doesn’t fit the mould, in any way. Tall and devastatingly beautiful, with clothes that look as expensive as his car, nails too perfect for a working mom and hair that speaks of high-end product. And that’s even without taking into account the way she stands and walk around, like she owns the place. Like damn fucking royalty.

He’s been mesmerized from day one, and Dawn has been trying to convince him to talk to her from day two. Which is close on ridiculous now, the way she whispers to him when the woman walks in, or how her skinny elbow digs into his arm to get his attention, or the insistent glares until the woman leaves the shop. She’s taken lessons in Annoying Sibling 101 with Donna, and it’s definitely working. Dick gets annoyed in less than a second, just from those very few words.

“Maybe she’ll buy something this time,” he grumbles as he focuses back on his laptop. He has taxes to calculate and an employee to ignore, after all, so Excel has never been more fascinating than right now.

Dawn sighs, the sound overdramatic yet harmless in her mouth, before she walks toward another potential client to help them. She’s better at the whole commercial pitch than Dick is anyway, he doesn’t understand why she wants him to handle this when she’s right there.

Which doesn’t mean he can’t glance at the woman above the screen of his laptop though. He’s only a man, single at that, who doesn’t get many chances to go out lately. Not with Gar stressing the fuck out about university admissions and final exams, not with Rachel flipping the fuck out a few days a month now that she’s getting her period, not when Donna is all over his ass about a Christmas party with all their friends. All of this, on top of taking care of the shop. His college years of whoring around are but a distant past.

So what if he looks a little, and dreams a little? It’s nothing but harmless fantasy, and the woman will soon stop hanging around the shop anyway. Just a few images to fuel his imagination at night, is all. Nothing else. Nothing more.

That is, until the woman moves closer to the counter, staring at the wall of vintage collectibles on display. She sighs loudly, taping her fingers to her mouth, deep in contemplation. It’s mesmerizing to say the least, and Dick is on his feet before his brain can even yell at him not to move. He’s not entirely thinking with his brain right now anyway.

“Can I help you?” he asks, putting on his best customer service façade.

She turns toward him, and Dick is immediately taken by the bright green of her eyes, a sharp contrast with the smooth darkness of her skin. Her lipstick matches her eyes, and her nails, her full lips stretching into a smile. Dick’s throat suddenly feels really, very dry.

“Yes, please. I need to buy some Christmas gifts, but I’m… lost, to say the least!”

“Nothing I can’t help with. Who are you buying for?”

“My best friend’s niece and nephew. I’m meeting them for the first time at this Christmas party I was invited to, and I want to make a good first impression, you know? Kinda cool, rich aunt vibe, if you know what I mean.”

Dick can’t help but drop the customer service smile for a brighter, more genuine one. He’s been trying for too long to be the cool dad to his two brats, only for them to groan loudly every time he does something incredibly lame to them, not to understand what she means. Children and teenagers are a though crowd to win over.

“Yeah, we can definitely do that! Do you know what they like?” he asks them, not so subtly pulling her away from the vintage toys on display. No point looking at those; she’ll need something flashy and new, if she wants to impress those kids.

“I know the boy is seventeen and really into old school video games, spends hours playing on those vintage consoles. I think he particularly likes Nintendo? Not sure. The girl is trickier. She’s thirteen and a bit of a mouthful according to my friend. She’s really into Game of Thrones, from what I’ve heard.”

Dick stops in his tracks.

Freezes.

Turns slowly.

She’s looking at him expectantly, her lips pressed together not to smile, her eyebrows up. Of course. Of fucking course. This explains Dawn’s behaviour, and Donna’s pushiness about that fucking party, and about everything else that happened this week. How the fuck he hasn’t realised sooner, Dick has no fucking clue.

“Dany’s her favourite character. She says she looks like Dawn,” he comments. “I’m going to assume you’re Donna’s friend, and not just a stalker.”

The woman is grinning at him now – is that what it feels like, to win the damn lottery? “Donna and I met in college. I just moved back here from the West Coast.”

Ah yes. Those dreadful years where he was – well, _massive dick_ actually encompasses it well, all things considered. The only time in his life when he managed to drive Donna away for a while, that’s how bad things got once he no longer had Bruce’s drastic rules to keep him in line. The only time in his life when Donna’s friends weren’t also his friends, when he was an asshole to everyone around him and when he almost lost his sister-soulmate. No wonder he had no idea Donna was friends with such a beautiful woman. Donna could have moved to some deserted Greek island back then, and he wouldn’t have noticed.

“I’m Kory,” she goes on, offering her hand to shake. It’s warm and smooth, and it throws him off the loop for a hot second there. “Donna was… quite insistent about how well I would get along with her brother so…”

“So you _are_ stalking me,” he grins.

Always count on Donna for playing matchmaker with him. It’s become her passion through the years, and he’s met so many of her friends through blind dates that he’s lost track of them after a while. Dawn helps too sometimes, when she feels like it. It doesn’t even surprise him that the Christmas party was a trap all along – when Donna wants something, she will do anything to get it.

“More like, assessing the goods,” Kory replies, and it doesn’t fail to make Dick breath out a laugh of disbelief. She’s perfectly candid about it too, like it’s normal to stalk the guy your friend wants to set you up with, every day for a week. He kinda admires her dedication there, and perhaps even takes it as an ego boost. “But I also really need gifts for the kids.”

He winks and finger-guns her, like the cringy dad he is. Rachel would kill him if she saw. “I’ve got you covered, don’t worry.”

Donna will definitely gloat when she learns that they have drinks that night but. Oh well. Her efforts did pay off, in the end.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 8\. I’m a barista and you keep making weird faces when you drink the “Christmas cheer in a cup” coffee I make, why do you keep ordering it?

**Kory Anders** @starfire · 35 m

Okay guys, something happened at work these past two weeks and… Hold on to your puppies, it’s going to be a long ride! (cont.)

◎ 165 → 123 ♡ 8.7k

**Kory Anders** @starfire · 32 m

I work in this white hipster coffee shop downtown. Just next to Gotham U so lots of students, chill atmosphere, nice tips. Actually enjoy working there a lot even though I’m the blackest girl those folks ever seen in their lives lmao (cont.)

◎ 134 → 98 ♡ 4.5k

**Kory Anders** @starfire · 30 m

Anyway it’s December, so we’ve got a Christmas menu on top of the usual drinks. Peppermint hot chocolate, gingerbread everything, snowman-shaped cookies, you know the drill. People love that shit, man. (cont.)

◎ 98 → 75 ♡ 3.8k

**Kory Anders** @starfire · 27 m

We also have the “Christmas hug in a cup” which, no judging but it might be the most disgusting thing ever. Peppermint AND toffee nut syrup on mocha, topped with whipped cream, cookie crumbles and marshmallows. GAG (cont.)

◎ 34 → 47 ♡ 3.4k

**Kory Anders** @starfire · 25 m

It’s Monday afternoon, super quiet, when this dude enters the coffee shop with two teenagers. Nobody else at the counter so they take time to read the menu and shit. And then teen boy goes “What’s the Christmas hug in a cup?” (cont.)

◎ 27 → 39 ♡ 2.7k

**Kory Anders** @starfire · 22 m

Me, super fake customer service smile on, explains what that drink from hell is, listing everything properly. Teen boy looks in heaven. Teen girl’s eyebrow so high they might fly away. Dad looks disgusted af and relatable af (cont.)

◎ 19 → 45 ♡ 3.1k

**Kory Anders** @starfire · 19 m

Teen boy, big smile: three of those please, one with almond milk, no cream

Dad right about to give up on life here and there, but still pay for those three Christmas diabetes in a cup anyway and tells the girl to pick a table. The boy is jumping up and down already (cont.)

◎ 23 → 34 ♡ 2.9k

**Kory Anders** @starfire · 17 m

I make the drinks, which takes for-fucking-ever because that shit was just created to make baristas hate Christmas. Teen girl gags on hers but puts a brave face. Dad doesn’t even take a sip before he gives up. Boy looks like Christmas came three weeks early!!! (cont.)

◎ 48 → 38 ♡ 3.1k

**Kory Anders** @starfire · 14 m

They leave after half an hour or so and I think it’s the end of it

BUT NO!

NEXT DAY, DAD IS BACK ALONE!

AND HE ORDERS THE DRINK CREATED BY THE GRINCH HIMSELF!!! (cont.)

◎ 59 → 293 ♡ 4.3k

**Kory Anders** @starfire · 12 m

At this point I just think he’s crazy. White dudes be like that sometimes. But! It doesn’t even stop there! Dude comes back every. fucking. day. and orders the same shitty drink every. fucking. time. like he’s a glutton for punishment or some shit??? (cont.)

◎ 165 → 123 ♡ 2.7k

**Kory Anders** @starfire · 11 m

And it’s not even like that drink is growing on him or anything. He seriously makes the same face of disgust every time, and never finishes it! We have a full menu to pick from! What is you doing! Order something nice for once!!! (cont.)

◎ 165 → 123 ♡ 2.7k

**Kory Anders** @starfire · 8 m

So yeah, it’s been going on for two weeks now? Every day on the clock. He’s about to show up in an hour and I’m worried about his mental health. And his sugar levels. And his will to torture himself for no reason. Like, the fuck?

◎ 394 → 271 ♡ 9.5k

“You made viral tweets about me.”

Kory almost bangs her head against the window display as she stands up from picking a muffin, eyes widening at the sight of him at the counter. It’s four twenty, a good half an hour before his usual time. She didn’t expect him now, and she sure didn’t expect those words out of his mouth. Like okay, her tweets got a little more traction than she expected, and even a Moment of their own, but. He doesn’t look like the kind of guy who goes on Twitter, seriously.

“Did I?” she asks as she grabs a medium-sized cup. “The usual?”

“One Americano, actually.”

She stops in her tracks, cup in the air, to stare at him. That is quite the change from the sugary monstrosity he’s been forcing himself to drink for the past two weeks; a true one-eighty actually. Most people order at least a cappuccino these days, to the point where Kory sometimes forgets coffee can indeed be drank without any kind of milk in it.

“Right away,” she replies, though she doesn’t manage to hide the disbelief from her voice as much as she would like. He must notice too, if his smile is anything to go by. Nice smile too, might she add.

At least his Americano is faster to prepare than the other shit, so it’s only a matter of minutes before he pays and she hands him his drink. And maybe it could be the end of that – he finally gets good coffee and leaves, never to be seen again – but it’s not quite how it happens. Instead, he lingers by the counter.

“So, those tweets…”

“Not my account.”

“The profile picture literally is a selfie of you.”

“Could be a doppelgänger.”

“Could be you deflecting.” He raises one hand in surrender when she glares at him, as to apologize, which kind of lose its effect when he won’t drop his stupid smile. And to think she found him cute at first? Yuck! “I’m not trying to start a fight, I just want to talk about it.”

“Oh so, you’re not mad, you’re just disappointed?” She folds her arms on the counter to lean forward, as close to him as she can when there’s an army of gingerbread men on display between them. “Cause that makes it so much better.”

He puts his drink on the counter, if only to mirror her position. His face is suddenly closer to hers than Kory would like – or that is probably appropriate at her workplace – and yet she can’t seem to move or even to lean away. There is something fascinating about his eyes that has her rooted to the spot.

“You looked so passionate when you described the drink to my kid, we thought you’d created it yourself. I didn’t realise until I read your tweets that you hate that shit as much as I do.”

She smiles, but it soon turns into a frown. “But why did you keep ordering it then?”

There is something too soft about his expression when he says, “Why ordering the cute barista’s signature drink every day for two weeks? I don’t know, you tell me.”

“Oh.” And then, when it really dawns on her, “Ooooh…”

His grin is worth all the shitty coffees in the world.

**Kory Anders** @starfire · 10 m

Filed under: opinions I didn’t ask for

> **Donna Troy** @girlwonder
> 
> Damn, both my brother AND my best friend are massive idiots

◎ 28 → 4 ♡ 1.2k

**Kory Anders** @starfire · 8 m

UPDATE: we be dating

◎ 48 → 27 ♡ 4.3k


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 9\. We’re neighbours and I just got locked out of my apartment, I was baking cookies that will burn if I don’t get in there quick

Well. That’s a whole new level of fucking embarrassing.

Dick glares at his front door, as if that could be of any help. Unsurprisingly, it remains closed and locked, which. Annoying. Logical, but still fucking annoying. And it’s not even like Dick can call Rachel or Gar for one of them to come home early and open the door for him because he doesn’t even have his phone on him, like a fucking moron. Not that Rachel would leave whatever she’s doing to help him anyway, ungrateful child. Gar would be more willing but then again. No fucking phone, or anything. Like a damn moron.

“Fuck off,” he grumbles to himself as he kicks the door. Doesn’t change much, but oh well. He does it a second time, for good measure, if only because he needs to release his anger in some kind of way, and violence is the answer.

He’s about to let out another curse word, when the neighbour’s door opens instead. She stands there in her doorframe, eyebrows high on her forehead and lips pressed into a thin line. Thoroughly unimpressed. “Problem there?” she asks.

Dick has seen her around, if only because there is no way not to notice her. The woman is drop-dead gorgeous, in a definitely-out-of-your-league way, if only because the walls are thin and she might hear him and Rachel during their yelling contests a little too regularly to his taste. Also, well. She looks the way she looks; she’s basically out of everyone’s league, not just his own.

“I’m fine,” he mumbles, and kicks the door again, although without strength this time.

Her smile widen a bit as she folds her arms on her chest and leans against her doorframe. Definitely gloating. It’s a good look on her, he has to admit. “You don’t look fine.”

“Yeah, no shit,” he snaps. It’s been a long day and he’s fucking exhausted, and he locked himself out of his fucking flat while cooking gingerbread men for this weekend. He kinda earned the right to be an asshole. Except, not really, deflating immediately when she starts glaring at him. “Sorry. It’s been a shitty day and my kitchen is probably catching on fire right now.”

She stands a lighter straighter there, an expression of surprise on her features. “Do you need me to call the landlord?”

Dick looks away from her and back to his door. As if it would be any different this time and open by magic. Of course nothing happens, but he suddenly remembers how, earlier today, he’d opened the balcony’s door to let some air in since it was so hot inside from all the cooking and baking. It might be a long stretch but…

“Hey, can I use your balcony for a second?”

Her mouth opens even though no word comes out, her eyes widening a bit. She’s speechless even as she moves from her door to let him in with a motion of her hand, even as she follows him inside her own flat. He doesn’t take the time to look around or anything – that is, after all, none of his business – and instead makes a beeline for her balcony.

The cold winter air bites his cheeks immediately, putting everything into perspective. Leaning above the balcony’s railing, he has to admit it’s quite the jump – at least a good three feet between her balcony and his, not to mention the fact they live on the fourth floor. It could be amazing. It could also be a one-way ticket to the ER.

“Are you out of your damn mind?” she asks when she catches up with his idea.

Dick’s first instinct is to tell her that, yes, very much so. He’s been out of his damn mind for a very long while already, so that’s nothing new. Or perhaps he should just tell her he grew up in a circus, swinging around on a trapeze before he even knew how to walk. But that would be wasting time, so instead he jumps as to crouch on her balcony’s railing, one hand against the wall.

It’s only three feet. He could do it backward, with his eyes closed and one hand tied behind his back. He doesn’t say that though. Instead he says, “Fucking watch me,” and makes the jump.

Her scream pierces his ears. Dick grabs the railing with no problem though, climbing on his own balcony in a matter of seconds. He even takes the time to brush invisible dust off his shirt before he turns around and bows to her. She looks unamused, eyes as wide as saucers and skin a little grey. Which, obviously only makes him grin. He does like to make an impression.

“Thank you, I’ll be here all week!”

“You’re a fucking asshole!”

“Yeah, I know.” He moves forward, if only to lean against the railing. “Don’t tell me you’re not impressed though.”

“Your cookies are burning,” she tells him just as his fire alarm starts screeching.

Dick lets out a swear as he runs inside to turn the oven off and open a few more windows. It takes only a couple of minutes before he’s standing in the middle of his kitchen, waving a towel below the alarm to get rid of the smoke and the noise. Not so impressive now, is he.

The gingerbread men are a lost cause, obviously, so he has to make a new batch before Rachel comes back home and makes fun of him. The smell of burning lingers in the kitchen for two more hours, even with the windows wide open, but at least his eyes stop stinging by the time he has to do the pipping work. Alfred taught him to do it, thought it would be a good lesson about patience and minute details.

All his gingerbread little dudes have crooked smiles and uneven eyes but. At least they’re done. And edible.

He puts most of them in a box, and off to the fridge they go, before he drops four in a plate. Careful to have his keys in his pocket, he leaves his flat and goes knock next door. She opens only moments later, and corks an eyebrow at him.

“Sorry I scared you, here’s some cookies?”

Between his overly apologetic voice and his sad excuse of gingerbread men, she looks unimpressed. Dick can’t really blame her. “Are you trying to poison me?”

“No! Maybe? They don’t look that bad.”

She folds her arms on her chest. “You’re such a dick, you know that?”

“Hear that every day,” he replies, just to make her smile. And then, because it’s always fun, “So happens to be my name, too.”

Her mouth falls open, just a little bit, just for a moment, before she snorts a laugh and looks away, shaking her head. She rolls her eyes too, for good measure, then grabs one cookie and bites into it. A crumble sticks to her upper lip, and it’s hard to concentrate about anything else for three hot seconds there.

“Not bad,” she comments. She shoves the rest of it in her mouth before she adds, “Sugar cookies are still my favourite though.”

(It takes a week to perfect the recipe but when he does… oh, her smile.)


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 10\. We’re stuck in different cities, so we wont be together for Christmas. We end up talking on the phone, to the annoyance of our families

“Hello?”

“MERRY CHRISTMAS!”

“Rachel! Why do you have Kory’s phone?”

“Merry Christmas to me too, asshole.”

“Merry Christmas, Rachel. Where’s Kory?”

“Dawn got me a new phone and it’s charging right now so Kory let me take her phone to call you. Gar says hi too.”

“Hi, Gar. How’s the party?”

“Hank got into an argument with Gar about the vegan menu so Kory drank him under the table and now he’s sleeping and we’re all playing Monopoly and Dawn is cheating.”

“Sounds like fun.”

“It’s not because you’re not here, jackass. And now Kory is giving me the big eyes because I won’t stop insulting you. He deserves it!”

“Let me talk to Kory.”

“Kay. Love you, moron.”

“Love you too, brat.”

“Hey.”

“Hi.”

“How’s Christmas at the Batcave?”

“Fucking awful. That phone call is a nice reprieve.”

“That bad?”

“Bruce won’t talk to me and has this weird tension going on with Diana. Jason is one-upping everything I say. Donna and I just spent an hour communicating by blinking in morse.”

“And they say I’m the weird one.”

“Ah ah.”

“Well if it’s any consolation, the kids are missing you like crazy. Rachel filmed everyone opening their gifts so you could watch it and feel like you were here. Girl’s foul-mouthed but she really does care about you.”

“Don’t ground her for the language, it’s Christmas.”

“What kind of monster do you think I am? I’ll just pretend she’s grounded to make her sweat a little.”

“That’s my girl! … Where are you? It’s so quiet.”

“On the roof. Did you know Hank rebuilt the aviary? The kids helped Dawn putting Christmas light on it, it’s so pretty. Here, listen to the doves, they sound so happy. ...Can you hear them?”

“Yeah, I can. They’re not the only ones who sound happy.”

“...Maybe the kids aren’t the only one who miss you.”

“Aw, Princess Koriand’r, are you getting sentimental?”

“Fuck off.”

“I miss you too.”

“It’s not the same without you here. The kids are putting a brave face on, but I can see it’s affecting them too. Lots of ‘if Dick was here’ and ‘Dick would have loved that’ all evening long. I swear if it weren’t for Wayne, I’d fly your ass back to Washington in five seconds.”

“Please, do. Anything but… Oh, wait a second. What is it, Donna?”

“Your absence has been noted. We’re waiting for you to come back for dessert. Bruce isn’t pleased.”

“Like I give a fuck what Bru--”

“Dick, please. Don’t do it for him. Do it for Diana. And me.”

“Fine. I’ll be there in five.”

“See you downstairs, WonderBro.”

“Did you lock yourself in your room like a brooding teenager?”

“Did not!”

“Oh yeah, Donna was right. Real mature!”

“Are you done?”

“Maybe? Probably not, though.”

“You’ll be the death of me.”

“And you’ll enjoy every minute of it. But what does it look like, Richard Grayson’s childhood bedroom?”

“Like everything else in this house. A damn Ikea display, no life, no personality. Everything perfectly clean and untouched, because it was less a bedroom and more just a place to sleep. This manor is so aseptic, you’d die of boredom in five minutes if you were there.”

“I’d be with you. Life is never boring with you.”

“Aw Kory, you’ll make me blush.”

“So tell me, what are you wearing? … Dick! Is that a laugh I just heard?”

“Don’t sound so smug.”

“Oh, it’s the right amount of smug, believe me.”

“Why do I even put up with you?”

“Because you like me, and I’m the only one stupid enough to tolerate you.”

“Fair. I more than like you, though.”

“I know. Now go, have some cake, be awkward to your dad. We’ll be there in the morning to welcome you home. All of us.”

“Looking forward to it. And, Kory?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for calling.”

“It was all Rachel.”

“You know what I mean.”

“I do. Merry Christmas, Dick. See you in the morning.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 11\. I was cold, so you gave me your jacket but now you’re cold too. So I suggest we hug instead

When they’d settled into the safe room – for good, this time – Kory had picked their bedroom. Not because it is the biggest or has a bathroom of its own, but because of the balcony. There is nothing quite as peaceful as standing in the sun during the early hours of the day, drawing energy from it and letting it warm her skin. Or at night, leaning against the railing to admire Boston from up close, its lights and life and noises. It reminds her of the never-ending purr of her spaceship and how it would lull her to sleep after a long day of travelling.

Kory favours summer above all else, but there is something about a silent winter night. It has been snowing since morning, much to Rachel and Gar’s delight – they spent hours playing on the terrace until their noses and ears were frozen pink and they came back in for hot chocolates. Now the entire city is covered with a blanket of snow, everything so eerily quiet Kory didn’t know what to make of it at first.

It is beautiful, in its own way.

It soothes her mind after yet another nightmare that woke her up in a startle.

The door opens softly behind her, but she doesn’t turn away. No need, when she could recognise him with her eyes closed, when she could find her way back to him from another galaxy. Two planets orbiting around each other, travelling through the universe in the same direction.

“You’ll catch your death out there,” he sighs.

Something warm wraps around her shoulders and, before she knows it, Kory is snuggling into Dick’s grey hoodie. It is too big for her, as most of Dick’s clothes tend to be, but it smells like him, like comfort and home and love. She smiles, despite herself.

“I’m fine.”

“Nightmares again?” he asks as he leans against the railing next to her.

Kory chances a glance his way, but he’s looking in front of him, not at her. In the dark of the night, nothing but the far-away gleam of street lights, she can only make up the sharp lines of his profile. A shadow through the night, a ghost of the darkness. Sometimes, she wonders if he will ever truly run away from his past.

Or she from hers. There is no point in lying to him, so she simply nods. Nightmares have been plaguing her for months now – the asylum, the years of slavery, the loss of her family, her fears about her team. Keeping her awake at night or waking her when she falls into a few restless hours of slumber. She might try to shake the nightmares away, but they always come back to haunt her.

“You know you can wake me up, if needed.”

She knows. He would be here, listening, caring, making sure she is okay. He’s been here every step of the way, helping her with her memories, with gaining Rachel’s trust back, with easing the pain and the doubts and the despair. He’s been here for her, like she will always be there for him. A rock through the darkest storms, a solid presence by her side.

“I’m fine, I swear. I was just admiring the view.”

“Yeah. Pretty.”

It’s only there that she notices the way his teeth rattle, his body shaking with barely concealed shivers. He’s wearing nothing more than his sweatpants and a thin shirt – more than most nights – and his hoodie is still around her shoulders. This beautiful, idiotic man.

“Come here.”

He turns his head toward her, eyes shining in their confusion. “What?”

“You’re freezing. Come closer. Don’t they teach you about thermodynamics in human schools?”

A smirk curls up one corner of his mouth even as he fully turns away from the railing and closer to her. “Yes, please, Kory. Do refer to snuggling in scientific terms. You know how much that turns me on.”

She’s the one to laugh, a small snort through the nose even as she rolls her eyes at him. “Just come closer, you jerk.”

It never fails to fascinate her, how much taller he is when she isn’t wearing her boots. He doesn’t quite tower above her, but the few inches he has on her are enough to feel like he’s engulfing her in a hug when his arms wrap around her and pull her to his chest. He’s all warm from sleep, soft and comfortable and familiar. He face fits against his neck, his hands finding their way to her lower back. There is something to be said about domesticity – the knowledge that she will always find her way into his embrace, like two pieces of a puzzle that match perfectly.

Years of her people working on engineering and space travel and exploring the universe, all that to lead Kory into his arms. Fate sometimes works in funny ways.

“This is nice and all,” Dick mutters against her hair. “But I’ll have you know it’s even warmer under the covers over there.”

“Any excuse to get me in bed.”

“You got me there.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my boy is a thot and i love him

She stands in front of his Christmas tree, the lights casting red and green shadows on her profile and in her hair, smoothing her already perfect skin. Dinner with their friends tonight was a success – a small affair, everyone bringing a dish to eat and share, and maybe one too many bottle of wine. Dick’s body buzzes softly with the aftermath of the alcohol even after making sure both Rachel and Gar are asleep instead of sneakily playing video games in the dark of their bedrooms.

He didn’t ask Kory to stay behind, but here she is, a goddess in the middle of his mess of a living room. Perhaps tonight will finally be the night, high on wine and good food and happiness, where he doesn’t lose his nerves, where they don’t hide behind their walls, where she doesn’t use her sarcasm as a shield. Perhaps, just maybe.

“It was a nice evening,” she tells him, her voice soft above the Christmas playlist still playing on his speakers.

Dick turns the volume down until it is nothing more than quiet background music, before he moves closer to her. “It was. Thanks for coming, by the way. It meant a lot to Rachel.”

Well, not just Rachel but – Kory always had a soft spot for the girl, ever since the day they met. Dick takes care of her as much as he can, but she needs a feminine touch that Donna can’t offer, a motherly presence in her life filled by Kory’s love and care for her. The girl has softened so much already, just from spending time with her.

She turns toward him, her back to the tree and the lights a halo around her face – the red of the decorations match that of her lipstick, the green of her eyes deeper than a forest. It takes Dick long seconds, before he notices she’s holding a small present between her hands, delicately wrapped with a box on top.

He can’t help it; he smiles.

“That for me?”

“No, it’s for the neighbour,” she replies with a roll of her eyes. “Yes, it’s for you, you moron.”

Dick scoffs at her sarcasm, but takes the box anyway. They’d all agreed on no gifts between adults – showering Rachel and Gar with love and useless crap was so much more entertaining – until Dawn put her foot down and negotiated a white elephant. Still, no personalised gifts this year.

So yeah, of course Dick got something for both Kory and Donna.

He’s not a monster.

He simply didn’t expect to get something in return.

He opens the gift slowly, delicately. When he was a child, he loved to rip the paper apart like an animal, just because the sound was so satisfying and it made his parents laugh. But then there was Bruce, and expensive gifts in unwrapped boxes – watches, cufflinks, those types of things – and Christmas became something else. Something less enjoyable. He still bears the marks, years later, finger under the sellotape not to make a mess of things.

“It’s not much but…” Kory starts, one hand brushing her hair from her face before she starts playing with her golden ring.

He loves that about her – the tiny cracks in the mask she always wears, the barest of evidence than she isn’t as cold and confident as she pretends to be. Nothing but the way she turns the ring around her finger to keep her hands busy, and yet so telling of the storm in her mind. He’s equally flattered and terrified that he could ever make her nervous.

And then, just as the paper opens on a pink box, she freezes.

“Fuck.”

“What—” he starts, but his question ends in some weird, squeaking noise at the back of his mouth.

He barely has time to make out the brand or the specific design before Kory snatches it from his hands and turns around. Her back to him, Dick has no other choice but to try and tower over her shoulder to grab it again, but she holds the box to her chest, shielding it from him with her arms crossed in front of it, and Dick gives up after only a few seconds.

He can’t quite wipe the amused grin from his face though, and his sentence starts with a laugh when he says, “You could have asked me on a date first.”

Which is ridiculous, as far as statements go but – so is the situation, to be honest.

“It wasn’t for you.”

“You literally gave it to me.”

“It wasn’t _your_ gift.”

_“You literally gave it to me.”_

“I didn’t mean to, okay!”

And then she’s turning around, and Dick takes a step back at the intensity of her glare. He’s never seen her upset – at least, not at him – and didn’t know it could be that effective. Or that deadly. Especially since he was only teasing, not taking this seriously. It’s too ridiculous a situation to take it seriously.

“Hey, hey, Kory,” he says softly as he takes a step forward again, hand hovering over her elbow. “Just kidding. Of course you wouldn’t buy me a neon pink vibrator for Christmas.”

She pouts, and it might as well be the cutest thing he’s ever seen in his life. It’s kind of hard, keeping his grin away from his face when the anger melts into adorableness and he’s reminded of how whipped his sorry ass is when it comes to her.

And then there’s a new gleam in her eyes, and a wicked smile on her lips.

“It was supposed to be for Donna.”

“Oh, ew!” Dick makes a face at the mental image. That’s his sister! His sister with sex toys! His sister doing sex things! Ewww! “Fuck, Kory, why!”

She’s the one laughing now, like an asshole. “Because she’s been single for a while, and she feels lonely and…”

He puts a hand against her mouth so she will finally shup up. Her eyes sparkle with untapped mirth, while his are wide and disgusted. He might have only met Donna when he was twelve and she thirteen, but they were joined at the hip after that – together at school and during the weekends, doing homework at Bruce’s, movie marathons at Diana’s. When he calls her his sister, he does mean it in the purer sense of the word. The two of them, it’s ride-or-die with a good layer of shitty banter. He never wants to think about her in a way that sexualises her. It’s wrong. Not to mention very gross.

Kory, quite obviously, doesn’t share his internal dilemma and disgust. She’s flipped the tables on him with only a few words, and is now enjoying it way too much for her own good. Which won’t do, obviously.

So Dick being Dick, he takes another step closer to her, until there’s barely any distance left between them. Usually they would be about the same height, but this is a no-shoes house and she lacks the knee-high boots and the few inches that come with it. She has to slightly look up to look at him, her eyes widening even as her tongue darts out to like her lips.

“Well, she’s gone now. Maybe we could find another way to put that thing to good use.”

“You could have asked me on a date first,” she throws his words back at him with a smile. Fair.

His smile has lost his edge, even as he snorts a small laugh at her nerve, and he raises a hand to cup her face, moving higher until his fingers get lost in her hair. She leans into his touch, and he could do that for hours – just worshipping her with gentle caresses and adoration, making sure she knows how much she means to him, how she changed his life since he met her.

He’s not quite the same anymore, now that she’s here.

“Come on, Kory,” he adds as his free hand wraps around hers where it still holds the box. His voice may be gentle, but his voice is pure sin when he says, “Show me yours and I’ll show you mine.”

And then he doesn’t say quite much, when her lips crash against his.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 13\. I’ve never seen snow in person before, until now, what is this white stuff falling from the sky? Why are you laughing at me?

He wakes up slowly, groggily, and it takes him longer than it should why that is – the comfort of the safe house has lowered his guards, which is never good. He blinks away the sleep from his eyes even as Kory keeps shaking his shoulder, his name nothing but a whisper on her full lips. It’s only when he rises up on one elbow, frowning deeply at her, that she gives a half-assed explanation.

“Something’s happening.”

“The fuck?”

There is no urgency or fear in her voice, which is probably the only reason why Dick’s instincts don’t take over to pull him out of his bed in seconds. Instead, he watches as Kory gets out of bed, her naked form soon disappearing under layers of clothes – her leggings but his shirt, fuzzy socks that probably were Gar’s once upon a time. Dick follows her with his eyes even as he sits up a little, confused as ever.

“What the hell, Kory?”

She doesn’t usually react like that after a nightmare – instead choosing to cuddle up against him until her entire body is pressed to his side, her hand on his chest so she can feel the beating of his heart, solid, present. She will whisper to him about the asylum, the years of slavery, the past memories that will never fit with her feelings for Rachel. She will whisper and he will listen, one arm around her shoulders, the other hand in her hair, his lips to her temple.

This is different, as she walks around their bedroom to grab a sweater and put it above her head – her hair poofs out of it in a mess of red-pink curls and it’s the best thing Dick has ever seen in his life. That is, until she walks toward the balcony and opens the door, letting in the freezing winter wind.

“Kory! The shit!”

He scrambles to follow her, jumping in a pair of sweatpants and his hoodie, struggling to find his combat boots under the bed. By the time he’s ready to confront the night cold, walking toward the balcony, he finally notices what Kory is doing.

Or, rather, not doing, which is anything at all.

She stands on the large balcony, head tilt up toward the sky and arms stretched out on her sides, eyes closed. It is only there that Dick realises that it is snowing. Fat, fluffy snowflakes falling to the ground and catching in Kory’s hair until it turns light and wet. She opens her mouth, tongue darting out to catch one, and Dick can’t help but laugh at the delighted look on her face.

“You’ve seen snow before,” he states as he opens the door, not without grabbing a throw blanket to put around his shoulders first. They can’t all generate their own warmth in this family, and mere mortals are more at risk of the common cold. “It was snowing when we first met Rachel.”

“It had snowed when we met Rachel, that’s different. I’ve never seen it fall before.”

What she means – Kory Anders hasn’t, but Koriand’r has. Dick has learnt to make the difference through the months, what is new and what isn’t, what is memories she represses and what is part of her true identity. There is her before Rachel, and after. The girl shaped all of their lives in such a funny yet meaningful way.

“It’s just snow.”

“It’s beautiful.”

She slowly spins around, fingers stretching as far as they can go. The pure bliss on her face is something Dick rarely ever sees – it makes her look younger, softer. Like she’s a normal woman instead of alien royalty come to earth for a secret, universe-saving mission. Carefree. Beautiful.

“Come on, it’s cold as fuck,” he comments, just to be contradictory.

Kory looks at him now, burrito’d in a blanket, hair floppy-sad on his forehead. He wonders what she sees, when she looks at him like that, when she offers him a smile that is only for him, warm and gentle and so, oh so caring. He asked Donna, once, and she chokes on her own saliva from laughing out loud, and then called him a moron, and then laughed even more. He hasn’t asked Donna anything else since.

“Stop being so grumpy,” Kory laughs, grabbing one of his arms to pull him outside and closer to her.

Dick follows with only mild complaining, and makes sure to keep Kory close enough that he can wrap the blanket around the both of them, cocooning them from the harsh weather. She puts her arms on his chest, warmth radiating from her palms and travelling through his body. One flake of snow falls on her nose, and she wrinkles it with another smile.

“You’re right, it’s beautiful.”

If she knows he means something else – the words stuck beneath his teeth, the same words he’s been choking on for months now – she doesn’t say. Instead she nods, pleased that he stopped grumbling around for once, and leans to kiss his jaw. It reminds him of those old Hallmark movies Donna forced him to watch as a teenager, just because she loved to see his reaction. Too perfect, too loving. Unrealistic.

He has no idea how it became his life, waking up next to this perfection of a woman and being lucky enough to witness her awe at the experience of a first snowfall. This never was in the cards for him, this never was the future he pictured for himself. And yet here he is, happier and more at peace than he’s been in a very long while.

“The kids are going to be insufferable tomorrow morning.”

She grins. “It’s going to be this summer’s swimming pool all over again.”

Dick hides his groan in the crook of her neck, making her laugh even more. He loves the kids, he really does, but he often doesn’t have the energy to deal with their energy. And with enough snow on their terrace to have the snowball fight of the century, they will be teenagers on crack in the morning. He can’t wait.

She looks up to the sky one more time, her entire face lighting up with a grin when a snowflake falls on her cheek and melts against her skin. Then she looks back at him, and her grins grows softer. “Okay, let’s go back inside before your nose falls off.”

He can’t feel his nose or his ears, but he’d gladfully stay in this moment with her.

Turns out, sharing an armchair to watch the snow fall from inside is just as good.


End file.
